Missile launching system for model submarine



Jan. 31,1967 'R. E. DIAS 3,300,393

, MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE Original Filed Nov. 27,1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

INVENTOR RICHARD E. DIAS AGENT.

Jan. 31, 1967 R. E. ms 3,300,393

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE Original Filed Nov. 27,1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 w Q (I) \z u '2 11 0 v E'ETQF N m k) 3 g L r m oco m EN m . N m k m 2 m w 1 00 O Q m (I) .q 01 w m m r r INVENTOR m 3gRICHARD E. DIAS co m 01 AGENT.

Jan. 31, 1967 R. E. DIAS 3,300,893

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE Original Filed Nov. 27,1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR RICHARD E. DIAS AGENT.

Jan. 31, 1967 'R. E. DIAS 3,300,893

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE Original Filed Nov. 27,1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG 8 f r v M 388 INVENTOR ave, RICHARD E. oms

AGENT.

R. E. DIAS 3,300,893

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jan. 31,1967 Original Filed Nov.

Jan. 31, 1967 R; E. DIAS 3,300,893

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MODEL SUBMARINE I Original Filed Nov. 27,1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 ANCHOR LIGHTS FIG. 6.

RUNNING LIGHTS MISSILE TUBES PROPULSION MOTOR INVENTOR RIOHARD E. DIASAGENT United States Free 3,300,893 MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR MGDELSUBMARINE Richard E. Dias, 17 E. Emerson St., Meirose, Mass. 02176Original application Nov. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 240,466, now

Patent No. 3,229,426, dated Jan. 18, 1966. Divided and this applicationMay 28, 1965, Ser. No. 470,953

2 Claims. (Cl. 46-244) The invention described herein may bemanufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States ofAmerica for governmental purposes without the payment of any royaltiesthereon or therefor.

The present application is a divisional application of applicantscopending application Serial No. 240,466, filed November 27, 1962, nowPatent No. 3,229,420.

This invention relates to a nautical amusement device, and moreparticularly it relates to a remotely controlled model submarine of themissile launching type.

While models of the type herein disclosed are used primarily as toys,their use is not limited to such and they can be of considerable valueas educational devices for acquainting personnel with the operationalcharacteristics of vessels of the type simulated by the models.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a model submarinewhich is remotely controlled, which is a simulacrum of an actualsubmarine and which is capable of performing both its surface andsubmerged operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide a model submarine havingself-contained steering equipment whereby the operator of the remotecontrol can cause the submarine to follow any course he chooses.

A further object of this invention is to provide a model submarinecapable of carrying novel miniature missiles and of firing the same upona command from the operator.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a model submarine in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the modelsubmarine;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the plane indicated bythe line 3-3 of FIG. 2A and illustrating details of the tail section ofthe model submarine;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control system for the variousoperating components of the model submarine;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a schematic wiring diagram of the control panel forthe model submarine;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the wiring between the control paneland the various components on the model submarine; and

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are different embodiments of missiles which are firedfrom the model submarine.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a model submarine 20 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown floating in a body of water which ishereinafter arbitrarily referred to as the sea or sea water, although itis to be understood that submarine 20 may be used in any lake, river,model tank or other suitable body of water. The model submarine 20 iscomprised of a main hull portion 22, an upper hull portion 24 and a sailmeans 26 mounted one upon the other as is illustrated in FIG. 1. Balsawood, glass reinforced plastic or other suitable materials can be usedfor constructing the exterior of the submarine.

A propeller means 28 provides propulsion for the submarine. Motion ofthe submarine is controlled by sail planes 30, stern planes 32 andrudder means 34. The sail 26 includes a slidably movable periscope means36 and a rotatable radar mast 38.

Both running lights and anchor lights are provided on the model. Therunning lights are comprised. of a masthead light 40 on the forward partof the sail 26, a port light (not shown) on the port side of the sail26, a starboard light 42 on the starboard side of the sail 26 directlyopposite the port light and an emergency stern light 44 on the rear partof the sail 26. The anchor lights are comprised of a forward light 46 onthe aft of the hull 22, a sail light located within the sail 26 butvisible through plastic windows 48, a stern light 50 on the sternportion of the upper hull 24 and a rudder light 52 on the upper portionof the rudder means 34.

Other features which are illustrated on the model of FIG. 1 are dummytorpedo tubes 54, a forward ballast tank flood port 56 and vent 58, anafter ballast flood port 6% and vent 62, six missile tubes generallyindicated as 64 and access holes 66 for the missile tubes. Though thetorpedo tubes 54 are indicated as dummy tubes, it is possible, ifdesired, to provide doors thereon and provide tube means which areadapted to fire torpedoes in much the same manner as will be presentlydescribed for the firing of missiles. With the exception of the dummytubes 54, all hardware and accessories shown in FIG. 1 are operative. Itis possible to provide numerous non-operating accessories such as radioantennas and the like in order to more closely simulate the appearanceof an actual submarine, and such accessories have not been shown sincethey merely constitute design features rather than an integral part ofthe present invention.

The model submarine 20 of FIG. 1 is shown firing a missile from one ofthe missile tubes 64. The particular construction of the missile will bepresently described, but at this point it can be stated that the missileis of a type which simulates the Polaris missile and which can be firedeither from a submerged position or from a surface position. Power tomaneuver the model submarine 20 and to fire the missiles is supplied byan electrically conducting cable means 7 0 which connects to a controlmeans 72 in the form of a control panel.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, it can be seen that the propeller 28 whichpropels the submarine 20 is mounted on the end of a main shaft 74 whichconnects through a flexible coupling '76 to a propulsion motor 78. Thepropulsion motor 78 is a reversible, variable speed DC. motor of theseries shunt type. The shaft 74 is rotatably mounted within a tubularhousing 80 by means of a plurality of roller bearings 82 located atspaced intervals along the interior of the housing. End bushings 84 and86 are provided at opposite ends of the housing means 80 to enclose thebearings 82 and render them relatively isolated from impurities. Theoutermost end bushing 86 has a groove therein containing a shaftsurrounding O-ring 88 to insure that the interior of the housing means80 will be watertight. An O-ring housing 96 with a plurality of O-rings92 contained therein is located adjacent the end bushing 86 to furtherinsure watertight integrity. Finally, a rubber seal means 94 is locatedbetween the outer end of the O-ring housing and the propellor means 28.This seal 94 has the function of further rendering the interior of thesubmarine 20 watertight.

Rotational movement of the rudders 34 is controlled by a rudder motor96, of the reversible D.C. type. The upper and lower rudders areinterconnected by means of a shaft 98 which is elbowed around the mainshaft housing 80 in a manner which can best be seen in FIG. 3. Rubberseal means 100 surround the shaft 98 beneath each of the rudders for thepurpose of preventing entry of water into the submarine through theshaft apertures. The rudder motor 96 has a drive gear 102 which engagesand drives a bull gear 104 mounted on the inner end of a shaft 106. Adrive gear 108 is provided on the outer end of the shaft 106 to drive anidler or connecting gear 110 which in turn drives a sector gear 112which is afiixed to the rudder shaft 98. The rudder shaft passes througha pair of roller bearings 114 mounted in the hull near the seal means109. The effect of the gear train is that the drive motor 96 rotates theshaft 98 to turn the rudders 34 angularly to the right or to the left,dependingon which direction the motor 96 is operating.

Rotational movement of the stern planes 32 is controlled by a sternplane motor 116, of the reversible D.C. type, which is shown in FIG. 3.The two planes 32 are interconnected by a shaft 118 which is elbowedaround the main shaft 80 in a manner similar to that of the shaft 98.The Shaft 118 is provided with rubber seal means similar to seal means1% for the rudders. The stern plane motor is provided with a drive gear126 which engages a sector gear 122 which is affixed to the shaft 118.Thus, as the stern plane motor 116 operates, the gears 120 and 122 willturn the shaft 113 to make the planes 32 assume either a rise or a diveposition, depending upon which direction the motor 116 is operatmg.

The model submarine is provided with a plurality of missile tubes 64which are shown as two rows of six tubes each, thus making a total oftwelve missile tubes. The tubes themselves are each formed of anelongated tubular member 130 which has a heat producing means 132threaded into its lower portion. A suitable heat producing means 132 hasbeen found to be a model airplane glo-plug which, when energized byelectrical current gives off a considerable amount of heat. Each tubularmember 130 is provided with a tube door 133 which in turn is providedwith a tension spring means 134 to maintain the door in its openposition once it has been manually opened. The door 133 when closedbears against a suitable sealing means such as a gasket 136 to preventwater entry into the tubular member 130. Each tubular member 130 has anupper portion 138 which extends slightly above the hull. This allows theoperator to place a rubber diaphragm over the portion 138 and attach itby means of a wire or rubber band, thus rendering the missile tubewatertight even when submerged with the door 133 open. This allowslaunching of a missile even when submerged without allowing the missileto become wet before firing. The lower portions of the missile tubes 64can be individually plugged or can be sealed by some common means suchas a hinged door (not shown).

The radar mast 38 and its operating mechanism are located either withinthe sail 26 or directly below it, and can best be seen in FIG. 2B. Themast 38 is an elongated rod having a replica of a radar antenna at itsupper end. The central portion of the mast 38 is housed within a tubularmember 140. A fitting 142 surrounds the lower end of the mast 38 and isprovided with a pair of bearings 144. Another bearing 144 is providednear the upper end of the mast 38. A rubber seal means 146 surrounds themast 38 where it passes through the bull to provide watertightintegrity. Additional leakage preventing means in the form of an Oringhousing 148 and a plurality of mast surrounding O-rings 150 is providedadjacent the inner side of seal means 146.

The radar antenna can be trained in either direction by rotation of themast 38. This rotation is provided by means of a radar motor 152 of thereversible D.C. type. The radar motor 152 has a drive gear 154 whichengages a larger gear 156 which is afiixed to the mast 38; thus rotationof the motor 152 in one direction will cause rotation of the radar mast38 and antenna in the opposite direction.

The periscope 36 is an elongated rod which passes through the bull inthe sail 26 forward of the radar mast 38. Rubber seal means 164) and anO-ring housing 162 with periscope surrounding O-rings 164 assurewatertight integrity. The central portion of the periscope 36 is housedwithin a tubular member 166, having an internal shoulder 168. The lowerportion of the periscope 36 is wider than the upper portion therebyproviding a shoulder 170. A coil compression spring 172 surrounds theperiscope 36 and is mounted between the shoulders 168 and 17 3. Theperiscope 36 is raised and lowered by means of electromagnetic coils 174and 176 which are connected in parallel. The lower portion of theperiscope below the shoulder 1'76 acts as the slug for these coils.Thus, when the coils are actuated, the periscope 36 is raised. Whenpower to the coils is cut off, the compression spring 172 and gravitycause the periscope to lower. It is possible, if desired, to providesuitable locking means for locking the periscope 36 in its raisedposition, such as for example, by rotating the periscope manually to alocked position.

The sail planes 30 are operated in a manner similar to the stern planes32. The planes 30 are interconnected by a shaft 136 which is sealed in amanner similar to that of the stern plane shaft 118. The operatingmechanism for the sail planes 30 is shown in FIG. 2B. It consists of asail plane motor 182 of the reversible D.C. type, which is provided witha drive gear in the form of a worm 184-. The worm 184 mates with a drivegear 186 which is affixed to the shaft 180. Thus, rotation of the sailplane motor 182 causes rotation of the sail planes 30.

The model submarine 2%) has a forward ballast tank 190 and an aftballast tank 192, said tanks cooperating to control the overall ballastof the model. When the model is placed in the water, water starts toenter the ballast tanks through their flood ports 56 and 60, thusforcing air out through the vents 58 and 62. When the operatordetermines that proper buoyancy has been reached, he plugs the ports 56and 60 with some suitable plug means such as corks. Depending upon thesize and weight of the model, and the depth desired, it may be necessaryto also plug the vents 58 and 62. Because of the size and weightvariables, control of the ballast of a model becomes a matter of trialand error until the operator becomes sufiiciently familiar with theoperational characteristics of his model.

As can be seen from FIG. 2B, the electrically conductive cable means 70enters the lower portion of the hull 22 of the model submarine 20. Arubber seal means 194 surrounds the cable means 70 to assure that nowater will leak along the cable and into the interior of the submarine.

FIG. 4 illustrates in block diagram form, the path of the power from thepower supply through the control panel 7% to the model submarine 2G. Thespecific circuitry for the model is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The powersupply, as seen in FIG. 5A is a volt, 60 cycle, A.C. source which isconnected to a conventional stepdown transformer 200. The output linesfrom the transformer 200 comprise two lines 202 and 204 which carry 35volts, at line 266 which carries 28 volts, a line 208 which carries 26volts, at line 210 which carries 24 volts, a line 212 which carries 22volts and a common line 214.

Power for controlling the propulsion motor 78 is tapped off the 35 voltlines 202 and 204 to an isolation switch 216 of the conventional doublepole, double throw type which in turn connects to the A.C. terminals ofa conventional full wave bridge rectifier 218, which is also identifiedas rectifier A. A conventional double pole, double throw switch 220 isconnected to the DC. terminals of the rectifier 218 to thereby controlpower to the propulsion motor 78. The switch 220 is connected to aterminal block 222, which is also identified as TB3, by means of fourleads. Leads 224 and 226 connect to terminals -7 and 8 respectively ofT133 and these leads supply power to the armature circuit of the motor78.

leads 228 and 230 connect to terminals 9 and respectively of T83 andthese leads supply power to the field circuit of the motor 78. Twoindicating lights are connected between the rectifier 218 and the switch228 to indicate whether the motor 78 is propelling the model forward orbackward.

The planes, radar and rudder, are controlled by 22 volts of power whichis tapped off line 212 to an isolation switch 232 of the conventionalsingle throw, double pole type which in turn connects to the AC.terminals of a conventional full wave bridge rectifier 234, which isalso identified as rectifier B. The two leads from the DC. terminals ofthe rectifier 234 supply power to switches for controlling the sailplanes, stern planes, radar, and rudders. These switches are all of thedouble pole, double throw type having crossed diagonal terminals and allthe switches are connected in parallel with the DC. leads from rectifierB. An indicating lamp 236 is also connected in parallel with the DC.terminals to indicate when the rectifier B is receiving power.

One of the above-mentioned switches is switch 238 which controls powerto the rudder motor 96. This switch is connected by leads 240 and 242 toterminals 5 and 6 respectively of a terminal block 244 which is alsoidentified as TB2. A pair of indicating lights are also provided at theswitch 238 to indicate whether the rudder motor 96 is turning therudders 34 right or left.

Another of the above-mentioned switches is switch 246 which controlspower to the stern plane motor 116. This switch is connected by leads248 and 258 to terminals 1 and 2 respectively of TB2. A pair ofindicating lights are also provided at the switch 246 to indicateWhether the stern plane motor 116 is moving the stern planes 32 to arise or dive position.

Another of the above-mentioned switches is 252 which controls power tothe sail plane motor 182. This switch is 35 volts, /3 speed is 22 voltsand /3 speed is 24 respectively of TB2. A pair of indicating lights arealso provided at the switch 252 to indicate whether the sail plane motor182 is moving the sail planes 30 to a rise or a dive position.

The last of the above-mentioned switches is switch 258 which controlspower to the radar motor 152. This switch is connected byleads 260 and262 to terminals 7 and 8 respectively of TB2. A pair of indicatinglights are also provided at the switch 258 to indicate whether the radarmotor 152 is turning the radar mast 38 right or left. 'A variableresistance 264 of 8 to 10 ohms can be provided in the lead 262 to varythe speed of rotation of the radar mast 38. A Power for controlling theperiscope coils 174 and 176 is tapped off the 35 volt lines 202 and 204to an isolation switch 266 of the conventional single throw, double poletype which in turn connects to the AC. terminals of a conventional fullwave bridge rectifier 268, which is also identified as rectifier C. Acrossed-diagonal double pole, double throw switch 270, of the typedescribed hereinabove, is connected to the DC. terminals of therectifier 268. The switch is connected by a pair of leads 272 and 274 toterminals 9 and 10 respectively of TB2. An iridicating light isconnected across the leads 272 and 274 to indicate when the coils 174and 176 are moving the periscope 36 to a raised position.

The model submarine can be run at various speeds since the mainpropulsion motor 78 is a variable speed motor. The different speeds areaccomplished by means of a rheostat 276 which connects to a speedselector switch 278. The speed selector switch 278 is connected to thelines 204 through 212 inclusive. Standard speed is indicated on theswitch as I which corresponds to 26 volts. Similarly full speed or II is28 volts, flank speed or III is 35 volts, /3 speed is 22 volts and /3speed is 24 volts. A conventional single pole, double throw switch 280is used to connect the rheostat to the main motor circuit.

When the switch 280 is swung to its other position, it deactivates thespeed control from the main motor circuit and activates the fire controlcircuit by connecting a lead 282 from one of the DC. terminals ofrectifier B to another lead 284 which leads to a conventional singlethrow, double pole switch 266 which acts as a fire control isolationswitch. A lead 288 connects the other D.C. terminal of rectifier B withthe other pole of the isolation switch 266. The fire control isolationswitch and the rest of the fire control circuit, as well as the lightingcontrol circuit are shown in FIG. 5B.

A lea-d 289 connects negative terminal of the fire control isolationswitch 266 to terminal 7 of a terminal block 290, which is alsoidentified as TB1. To prevent accidenal firing of a loaded missile tube,a safety circuit has been included as part of the firing circuit. Thesafety circuit comprises a series of six push-buttons generallyindicated as 291 and a three tier selector switch having selectorportions 292, 294, and 296 A lead 298 connects the positive terminal ofthe switch 266 to one side of each of the bush-buttons 291, to oneterminal of a springloaded firing button 300 and finally to the centertap of the lower selector switch portion 292. The other side of each ofthe push-buttons 291 connects to a terminal on switch portion 292 whichcorresponds to the missile tube number. For example, push-button #6 isconnected to terminal #6 on switch portion 292 to control the firing ofmissile tube #6.

The other terminal of the firing button 300 connects to the center tapof the upper switch portion 294. This switch portion has terminalsnumbered 1 through 6 which are connected to terminals 1 through 6respectively of TBI by means of leads 362, 304, 306, 308, 310 and 312respectively.

Indication of which tube is being fired is provided by a group of siXindication lights generally designated as 314. One side of each of theselights connects to a lead 316 which taps oh the 22 volt line 212. Theother side of each of the lights connects to the terminals on the switchselector portion 294. The center tap of portion 294 is supplied with 24volts by means of a lead 318 which taps off the line 210. The net resultis that two volts of power are supplied to whichever of the lights theoperator selects on switch portion 294.

A lamp 326, which indicates that the fire control circuit is beingsupplied with power, is connected between the leads 289 and 298. Thislamp 320 will be lit when switch 280 is closed to the fire controlposition and when switch 286 is closed.

Lighting controls for the model submarine 20 are provided by a pair ofsingle throw, double pole switches which are tapped off the transformerlines. The anchor lights switch 322 is tapped off the 22 volt line 212and the 26 volt line 208 and it thus supplies 4 volts to the anchorlights. The switch 322 is connected by leads 324 and 326 to terminals 8and 10 respectively of TBI. The running lights switch 328 is tapped offthe 22 volt line 212 and the 28 volt line 206 and it thus supplies 6volts to the running lights. The switch 328 is connected by leads 338and 332 to terminals 9 and 10 respectively of TBI. It is thus seen thatterminal 10 of TBI is common to both the running lights and the anchorlights. The lead running from terminal 10 to the lights will arbitrarilybe referred to hereinafter as 326, only, although it is understood thatit receives power from both lead 326 and lead 332.

FIG. 6 shows the wiring running from the terminal blocks in the controlpanel 72 through the cable to the components in the model 20. The cable70 is of 24 lead telephone type. An amphenol plug 334 having a femalepart with 24 sockets and a mating male part with 24 prongs provides ameans for disconnecting the control panel 72 from the model 20. Only thefemale portion of the plug 334 is illustrated and the leads to thecomponents are shown as emanating from the sockets therein, but itspouse's is to be understood that this is only for purposes ofillustration and in actual practice the leads to the components areconnected to the prongs which fit into the sockets.

, FIGS. 7 to 9 show some .of the various types of missiles which can befired from the model submarine described herein. FIG. 7 shows a singlestage missile 338 having a tubular main casing 340, a lower nozzleportion 342, a fuse 344 and propellant 346. The main casing can be madeof a rifle shell such as a 30-30 or a 30-06 rifle shell, or it can bemade of a lipstick tube or other suitable tubular member. The propellant346 can be any suitable composition such as rough grain rifle powder,actual rocket fuel or the like. A very powerful propellant which hasbeen used in these missiles is made by ciushing one laytex propellanttablet and mixing it with an equal weight of Du Pont 4F grade blackblasting powder, rough grain. The fuse 344 extends through the nozzleand into contact with a glo-plug 132, which when actuated will heat thetube causing the propellant to ignite and launch the missile. Theoutside of the missile should be lightly greased to facilitate its exitfrom its missile tube.

FIG. 8 shows a two stage missile 348 having a tubular main casing 350and a lower nozzle portion 352 similar to the missile of FIG. 7.However, the missile 348 is provided at its upper end with a separateportion 354 which constitutes the second stage of the missile. A fuse356 is provided for the first stage and a second separate fuse 358 isprovided for the second stage. Propellant 360 is provided for the firststage in the casing 350 and propellant 362 is provided for the secondstage in the second stage portion 354. The propellants can be of thesame or of different compositions, such as any of those described forthe missile 336. A .22 caliber rifle bullet with its bottom cut off hasbeen used effectively as the second stage portion 354. When the fuse 356is ignited by a glo-plug 132, it will cause the propellant 360 to ignitethus launching the missile. At some point in flight the propellant 360will ignite the second stage fuse 358 which in turn will ignite thesecond stage propellant 362 thus causing the second stage portion 354 toseparate.

The missile described in FIGS. 7 and 8 are extremely powerful and canattain a height of several hundred feet depending upon the size of themissile. Consequently, it will be appreciated that these missiles shouldonly be fired outdoors. Occasionally, however, it may be desired todisplay and demonstrate the model submarine indoors in which case a safeembodiment of missile is needed. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 9as 364. The body 366 of the missile is formed of Styrofoam, spongerubber or some other suitable soft material. A carbon dioxide cartridge368 is inserted in the body portion 366 with its neck extending out atthe bottom end of the missile. The carbon dioxide cartridge 368 providesthe motive power to launch the missile 364.

In order to launch the missile 364, a modified system of launchingequipment is needed. The glo-plugs 132 must be unscrewed from the lowerends of the missile tubes 130 and replaced by threaded fittings 370.Each threaded fitting 370 has an upper shoulder 3'72 upon which the baseof the missile rests and an internal shoulder 374 upon which a coilcompression spring 376 rests. A piercing means 378 in the form of aneedle or pin passes through a central aperture in the fitting 370. Thepiercing means has affixed to it a collar portion 380 of approximatelythe same lateral extent of the internal shoulder 374-. The upper end ofthe spring 376 bears against the underside of the collar 380 and therebyurges the piercing means 378 upwards.

A right angle portion 382 of the piercing means 378 extends beyond thelateral extent of the missile tube 130 and is held down under the raisedportion of a cam 384, thus compressing the spring 376, as shown. The cam384 is connected through a gear reducing means 386 to a DC. motor 388.This motor is supplied with power from the lead which supplied power tothe glo-plug 132 for that tube. When a particular missile tube is firedby the operator, the motor 388 turns the cam 384 thus releasing theright angle portion 382 of the piercing means 378 and thus allowing thespring 376 to urge the piercing means 378 upwards. When the piercingmeans 378 punctures the neck of the cartridge 368, the missile 364 willfire.

It is possible to supply other components and equipment to the modelsystem described hereinabove. For example, a small working model of thesubmarine, having indicating lights therein could be furnished on top ofthe control panel 72 so the operator could get a further indication ofwhat is occurring at the submarine, particularly if the submarine issubmerged.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials,steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described andillustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be madeby those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a remotely controlled model submarine asdescribed herein, a missile launching system comprising:

at least one elongated missile tube situated within said model submarineand having an upper and lower end portion, said upper end defining amissile discharge end;

a model missile contained within said tube and adapted to be launchedout of the upper end thereof; said missile containing propelling meanscomprising a cartridge containing pressurized fluid;

actuating means located within the lower end of said missile tube andadapted, upon activation of said propelling means, to launch saidmissile out through the missile discharge end of said tube;

said actuating means including piercing means spring biased upwardtoward the discharge end of said missile tube, rotatable cam means forcontrolling the position of said piercing means and, electric motormeans connected to said cam means to rotate the same and release saidpiercing means upwardly to pierce said actuating means therebyactivating said missile propelling means by releasing said pressurizedfluid; and

manually operable closure means at the discharge end of said missiletube for rendering said tube substantially Watertight when said closuremeans is in its closed position.

2. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said model missile is made ofrelatively soft material and wherein said cartridge containingpressurized fluid has a neck portion facing toward the lower end of saidmissile tube and wherein said piercing means actuates said missilepropelling means by puncturing the neck of said cartridge therebyreleasing said fluid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,957,468 10/1960Enfield 12411 2,960,977 11/1960 Moorhead ,l24-11 2,993,297 7/ 1961Bednar et al. 46- -74 3,142,293 7/1964 Harter 124- 11 3,158,062 11/1964Feiler 124--11 X FOREIGN PATENTS 4,677 1912 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

L. J. BOVASSO, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A REMOTELY CONTROLLED MODEL SUBMARINE ASDESCRIBED HEREIN, A MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM COMPRISING: AT LEAST ONEELONGATED MISSILE TUBE SITUATED WITHIN SAID MODEL SUBMARINE AND HAVINGAN UPPER AND LOWER END PORTION, SAID UPPER END DEFINING A MISSILEDISCHARGE END; A MODEL MISSILE CONTAINED WITHIN SAID TUBE AND ADAPTED TOBE LAUNCHED OUT OF THE UPPER END THEREOF; SAID MISSILE CONTAININGPROPELLING MEANS COMPRISING A CARTRIDGE CONTAINING PRESSURIZED FLUID;ACTUATING MEANS LOCATED WITHIN THE LOWER END OF SAID MISSILE TUBE ANDADAPTED, UPON ACTIVATION OF SAID PROPELLING MEANS, TO LAUNCH SAIDMISSILE OUT THROUGH THE MISSILE DISCHARGE END OF SAID TUBE; SAIDACTUATING MEANS INCLUDING PIERCING MEANS SPRING BIASED UPWARD TOWARD THEDISCHARGE END OF SAID MISSILE TUBE, ROTATABLE CAM MEANS FOR CONTROLLINGTHE POSITION OF SAID PIERCING MEANS AND, ELECTRIC MOTOR MEANS CONNECTEDTO SAID CAM MEANS TO ROTATE THE SAME AND RELEASE SAID PIERCING MEANSUPWARDLY TO PIERCE SAID ACTUATING MEANS THEREBY ACTIVATING SAID MISSILEPROPELLING MEANS BY RELEASING SAIUD PRESSURIZED FLUID; AND MANUALLYOPERABLE CLOSURE MEANS AT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID MISSILE TUBE FORRENDERING SAID TUBE SUBSTANTIALLY WATERTIGHT WHEN SAID CLOSURE MEANS ISIN ITS CLOSED POSITION.